Cult movie 'Heathers' gets TV makeover, Doherty cameos

FILE - In this Nov. 14, 2015 file photo, Shannen Doherty attends the 4th Annual Baby2Baby Gala in Culver City, Calif. The 1988 movie "Heathers," which starred Doherty, will be adapted for TV. Doherty, who played Heather Duke in the movie, will guest star in the first episode. (Photo by John Salangsang/Invision/AP, File)

PASADENA, Calif. (AP) — The 1988 cult movie "Heathers" and the title characters get makeovers in a new TV series.

In the big-screen dark comedy, the queen bees who shared the name Heather were three white high school students by played by Shannen Doherty, Lisanne Falk and Kim Walker.

A girl of color and a boy named Heath, who is gay, are part of the trio on the show, debuting March 7 on the Paramount Network, formerly Spike TV. Jasmine Mathews, Brendan Scannell and Melanie Field star.

"In the movie, we have these like three beautiful white women who you wouldn't expect to be sort of like wreaking havoc on a school, and that was sort of new and hadn't been seen before," Scannell said. The retelling turns the story on its head, he said, with teens from traditionally marginalized communities "using the power of the internet and the power of pure self-confidence to trash everybody around them."

The show takes a deeper look than the movie could at what motivates the characters, said executive producer Jason Micallef. He sees both the original Heathers and the new ones as victims, not villains, which the show will explore, Micallef told TV critics Monday.

Both projects also fit their time, he said.

"The original film was released ... sort of at the end of the Reagan era, and in a time of transition. And I think now we're sort of in another clearly political time of transition," Micallef said.

Doherty, who played Heather Duke in the movie, will have cameo roles in three episodes, including the first, he said, declining to provide details.

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